James Cagney — MLSHOF3

James Cagney (1899-1986) is our third entry into Mick LaSalle’s Sunday Hall of Fame. I’m particularly fond of the above clip, 27 seconds from “White Heat.” He’s just telling Big Ed, hey, pal, I got your number. I’m not afraid of you. In fact, I think you’re a joke. It’s such a classic case of one guy being so much tougher than another guy. Big Ed has lots of big ideas and big plans, and Cagney’s just laughing at him.